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  <title>Chapter 7</title>
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            <h1 class="title">Chapter 7</h1>
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          <h2 class="subtitle">Lukas</h2>
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      <p class="first first-in-chapter first-full-width"><span class="first-letter first-letter-l">L</span>ukas had found Heaven.</p>
      <p class="subsq">It existed in every breath his lungs pushed through the mouthpiece of his saxophone, and in the sounds that came out the other end. The combined shift of the audience when the music started told him that he’d done well—that subtle lean or tilt of their heads, the rhythmic tap of a foot somewhere in the crowd. This particular club wasn’t the type of place for dancing, unlike the blues club his brother played at. The patrons came for the atmosphere of a jazz scene, which Lukas supplied them with in spades, his low, sultry notes laced with the tiniest bit of the North Wind that lived in his lungs.</p>
      <p class="subsq">It helped having an immortal spirit infusing his very being to attract fans—and lovers.</p>
      <p class="subsq">He never hit a wrong note, and could seduce a woman merely by playing the right song for her. But the second half of Heaven still eluded him—finding the perfect woman. Simply being able to seduce any woman he wanted didn’t make it easy to find the <i>right</i> one. And he should know, because he’d been looking for her for nearly two centuries.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Yet he kept trying, because Heaven wasn’t <i>only</i> music. The other half of Heaven meant finding the<i> One</i>. Only one woman in the entire world could be his true mate, and according to his grandmother, he would know her when he saw her. That didn’t mean he couldn’t find a distraction or two while he searched, though.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Tonight, his target was a lovely blonde at the cocktail table near the stage. She was seated with a pair of girlfriends who chattered back and forth constantly during the first set, but this young woman seemed like she couldn’t keep her eyes off him. He threw her a glance and a smile in between solos. He’d test her with a few songs, then if she held true, he’d give her the full Lukas North treatment with the last song of the night, after which he’d take her home and enjoy the rest of his evening, hoping the next night the girl he found would be his one true mate.</p>
      <p class="subsq">It was still early, however. The band was only a few songs in, so his seduction was merely beginning. He released the mouthpiece for a breath and a quick sip of water, then secured his lips around it again, fingertips resting on the brass keys, worn smooth from constant use.</p>
      <p class="subsq">His fingers nearly slipped when <i>she</i> walked in—a dark-haired beauty with skin so luminescent it couldn’t belong to a human woman. His lips parted and left the mouthpiece when his head turned to follow her through the room, unable to let his gaze dwell elsewhere. The blonde’s allure dimmed to insignificance.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Just in time, he gathered himself and hit his cue with the bassist’s heavy note. That note vibrated through him when she paused at her table, and lingered as she sat and closed her eyes, clearly entranced by the music.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Suddenly the beat he played to had nothing at all to do with the band. Their rhythm still guided him, but his true music—the music that came from his soul—was meant to match the beat of <i>her</i> heart.</p>
      <p class="subsq">He very nearly missed a note when he saw the glimmer of light in her eyes, and in the eyes of her male companion. Lukas recognized the third member of their party. His lips quirked into a smile at the sight of Erika Rosencrans, and he thought he understood. If any human woman he knew could snag a dragon for a mate, it was her.</p>
      <p class="subsq">His eyes were drawn back to the female dragon on Erika’s other side. Was his mesmerizing female part of a mated trio?</p>
      <p class="subsq"><i>Fucking dragons,</i> he thought, confused and trying to shake off the thought that this female he’d never seen in his life should be his. If he could entice a dragon female into hearing him play, he didn’t care about anything else. All he cared about was making sure <i>she</i> noticed him. Dragons had particular sexual appetites, and were very picky who they chose to share them with. He was simply honored that she was here in the audience. That was all.</p>
      <p class="subsq"><i>But by the Winds, to have a night with her.</i></p>
      <p class="subsq">He hazarded a glance at Erika and the other dragon, trying to keep his focus on the music. The male, a huge Red dragon, hid his nature well with a close shave and clean haircut. The male dragon paused while the two females settled into the booth, then slid in beside Erika and bent to kiss her and sling an arm around her.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Lukas raised an eyebrow as their kiss continued. They were definitely a closely mated pair, from the looks of things. He glanced at the other woman in time to see her gaze linger longingly on the couple. And then the large Red rested a hand on Erika’s belly and whispered in her ear.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Their beautiful companion turned away and met Lukas’s eyes.</p>
      <p class="subsq"><i>Blue,</i> was all he could think. Her eyes were the first introduction, a vivid indigo. Her dress a deep, midnight-blue velvet that hugged every curve. Her hair a cascade of blue-black over creamy white shoulders. A pair of sapphires dangled from her ears, catching the light. The colors were only superficial to her mood, however, and he altered the key of his song to try to pick up that impression, knowing his bandmates would catch on.</p>
      <p class="subsq">He managed to keep up with the composition, but was grateful for a break to catch the breath she’d stolen.</p>
      <p class="subsq"><i>She’s the One. Right here. Right now. Right the fuck in front of me. </i>He would wager that his grandmother would agree, if she were here to witness how mesmerized he was.</p>
      <p class="subsq">But a Blue dragon? Fuck.</p>
      <p class="subsq">He’d been with a few dragons before. The higher races were allies, and he’d found a sense of camaraderie in their shared secrets, so it was always a relief when they found a friend in the crowd. Especially one he didn’t need to hide their true nature from when they went home together.</p>
      <p class="subsq">But this one … she was something else. He’d heard about how amazing Dragon Ascension season could be, but he hated what it meant for the rest of the higher races.</p>
      <p class="subsq">The Ultiori would be out in full force, hunting.</p>
      <p class="subsq">If these two were here, looking as young as they did, that meant it had begun. Maybe months ago, but this was his first clue. He wondered if his brother knew. Maybe there was another female dragon who was his brother’s true mate.</p>
      <p class="subsq">He cursed the dragons’ efficiency as much as he praised it. They were good at staying under the radar, if even his race didn’t know their new generation was awake. But the turul were good at keeping secrets too, and he’d been out of touch for most of the year.</p>
      <p class="subsq">None of that mattered when she moved, though.</p>
      <p class="subsq">She raised a glass as he finished the song. She was looking right at him, toasting him, and he was enraptured by her fingers on her glass, the slope of her arm, and the way her sweet, pink lips grasped the lip of the glass and drank, the line of her throat rippling as she swallowed.</p>
      <p class="subsq">He shook his head to dispel the sudden, sure instinct that he had to have her tonight. And forever. She <i>was</i> the One.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Dragons were complicated. Not like his race. The turul were simpler. They lived to fly, and cared about little else besides the wind and their music. The fact that they’d gotten tied up in deeper political issues didn’t sit well with him, even less so after his sister’s death fifty years earlier. He and his brother had managed to forgive the dragons in general—they hadn’t been the ones to kidnap and drain his sister’s blood in some barbaric ritual sacrifice. The Dragon <i>Council,</i> however—they were the ones responsible for the Ultiori’s existence. Those six immortal bastards could suck his cock.</p>
      <p class="subsq">No, the rest of the dragons he had no issue with. Far from it, if the look she was giving him was any indication. He’d dive bomb the Dragon Council if he could, but this pretty dragon woman … he’d save her from their constricting laws. Take her away to an Enclave. Make sure she never had to worry about their fucking laws again, or about the Ultiori who hunted them. The urge to save her, care for her, protect her, was so primal that his head throbbed with the compulsion as much as his dick throbbed with arousal at the very sight of her.</p>
      <p class="subsq">He played stronger at the understanding of that urge. The turul mated for life.</p>
      <p class="subsq">He’d been skeptical about the truth of it, despite seeing his brethren coupling with each other, or with humans. He’d been alive for a very long time without meeting <i>the One</i>, so long that he’d ceased believing in her. Maybe there was no one out there for him. Maybe Fate was playing a big joke on him, letting his friends have that connection, but never giving him the chance.</p>
      <p class="subsq"><i>The heart wants what the heart wants</i>, his best friend had told him on the day he’d wed his mate. But love at first sight was still a myth to Lukas, until now.</p>
      <p class="subsq">He had to finish the set before he could talk to her. Never had he wished so hard to not be playing his saxophone.</p>
      <p class="subsq">The instrument itself had been his only love for so long that even his bandmates joked about how he loved it more than sex. There was some truth to it. Lukas had never found as much pleasure in coupling as he’d found playing music on this instrument. He’d tried, with all of them. Humans were enticing, but ultimately too complicated and too shallow at the same time, oblivious to the reality of the world they lived in. Ursa were fun, and he tended to gravitate to them more often lately, mostly because they seemed to enjoy his brand of humor and loved being entertained. The nymphaea were a little too … <i>female</i> for him. Perhaps having no male aspect to speak of made them that way, after the satyrs had been hunted to extinction.</p>
      <p class="subsq">He loved women, but also loved men for their familiarity. And the women he was most attracted to were the ones with powerful personalities.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Like his blue lady’s friend … Lukas knew Erika well. He had very fond memories of her from when she’d hung around his and his brother’s band in the early days—though she’d spent most of that time in his cousin, Ozzie’s, bed. Erika had never known his cousin’s true nature. She wasn’t the woman for him, after all. But now it thrilled him to know she’d found a true mate in a dragon.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Lukas had always loved dragons. Perhaps it was their shared bond to the wind. The nymphaea could fly when they chose, but their true form was waterbound. The ursa were so tied to the earth that the sky was only of passing interest to them. Dragons craved the wind just like the turul did. Thrived on it. Air meant life for every creature, but the wind meant even more to his race. The North Wind was their deity—the one who gave them life. And he’d had an alliance with the Mother of Dragons since the beginning of time. Their fates were intertwined.</p>
      <p class="subsq">If only the Dragon Council weren’t total jackasses. If only one of them hadn’t fucked it all up for everyone. At least, that had been the legend passed down since practically the dawn of time. One of them had made the mistake that had changed their entire world and created the monsters they were forced to hide from now.</p>
      <p class="subsq">He might forgive them entirely, if this newly ascended beauty could be his. He might forget that his race and many others had wound up the targets of the Ultiori after the dragons went to ground.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Lukas’s mood had been dark for several weeks over the same old thoughts, but lifted now that this woman was listening to him play what he’d always considered his mating song.</p>
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